The invention concerns a rear view mirror arrangement, especially an outside mirror for commercial vehicles.
Outside mirrors of this kind and of variously different construction, are already known in the present state of the technology. A mirror pane is adjustably affixed by a pivoting mechanism to a housing part, which is appropriately connected to the body of the vehicle, allowing the mirror to swing in reference to the housing part. The housing part is, as a rule, a solid plastic part, produced by injection molding. It is generally of a basin-like construction in which further mirror components or corresponding connection points for additions are installed. In particular, for large truck and bus mirrors, the carrying structure for outside mirrors is based on tubing or plates, which are affixed directly to the mirror holder which projects toward the vehicle body. This construction is disclosed by EP-A-0 590 510. The housing part serves then as a covering of the back side of the mirror plate and supports the pivoting mechanism. The housing also provides a streamlined sheathing of the outside mirror. Such construction is extremely expensive and heavy.
A problem with this tube and plate construction is found in that relatively strong vibrations occur in the rearview mirror assembly during the operation of the vehicle. In order to reduce these vibrations, EP 0 865 967 A2 proposes a carrying tube structure, encased in a foamed molded part. Again, the disadvantage of this is that the entire carrying structure is very heavy.
A very light design, which is adaptable to smaller mirrors, is taught by DE 44 29 604 A1. In this case, the tube construction is fully dispensed with and the foam element itself remains as the carrying structure. For this purpose, a gradiated foam is employed as a one-piece element or the carrier comprises several shells.